Northern Michigan's News LeaderHealthy Living: The New Heart Attack Warning System

Healthy Living: The New Heart Attack Warning System

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It's like having a crystal ball implanted in your chest. Researchers have developed a new early warning system that could save you from one of the leading killers of men and women. Robyn Haines shows us a technological fortune-teller in today's Healthy Living.

 

Carl Honaker has five stents to help keep his heart pumping. Doctors say a little machine called "The Guardian" could benefit him, and many others, who are at high risk for a second attack.

 

The guardian is a heart attack warning system. This pacemaker-like device is surgically implanted in the chest.  Wires connect it to the heart. The device continuously monitors heart function, and can detect signals of blocked arteries.

 

If the system senses a problem, a pager flashes and beeps... and from inside the chest, the guardian vibrates... telling a patient to get help right away. The heads up could save a lot of lives. According to the CDC, 50% of heart attack deaths happen within one hour of the onset of symptoms.

 

"The Guardian" is still considered experimental. 50 sites across the U.S. are testing it in a clinical trial. In all, one thousand heart patients around the country are being fitted with the warning system.